Michael Gera v. County of Schuylkill

USDC for the Middle District of Pennsylvani

Model of a GaAs quantum dot embedded in a polymorph AlGaAs nanowire

International audienceWe report on a numerical model of quasi onedimensional and quasi zero-dimensional semiconductor heterostructures. This model is strictly based on experimental structures of cylindrical nanocolumns of AlGaAs grown by molecular-beam epitaxy in the (111) direction. The nanocolumns are of 20 - 50 nm in diameter and 0.5 - 1 ìm in length and contain a single GaAs quantum dot, of 2 nm in thickness and 15 - 45 nm in diameter. Since the crystal phase of these nanowires spontaneously switches during the growth from zincblende (Zb) to wurzite (Wz) structures we implement a continuum elastic model and 8 band ~k * ~p model for polymorph crystal structures. The model is used to compute electromechanical fields, wavefunction energies of the confined states and optical transitions. The model compares a pure Zb structure with a polymorph in which the Zb disk of GaAs is surrounded by Wz barriers and results are compared to experimental photoluminescence excitation spectra. The good agreement found between theory and features in the spectra supports the polyphorm model

Natural and laboratory mutations in kuzbanian are associated with zinc stress phenotypes in Drosophila melanogaster

Organisms must cope with altered environmental conditions such as high concentrations of heavy metals. Stress response to heavy metals is mediated by the metal-responsive transcription factor 1 (MTF-1), which is conserved from Drosophila to humans. MTF-1 binds to metal response elements (MREs) and changes the expression of target genes. kuzbanian (kuz), a metalloendopeptidase that activates the evolutionary conserved Notch signaling pathway, has been identified as an MTF-1 target gene. We have previously identified a putatively adaptive transposable element in the Drosophila melanogaster genome, named FBti0019170, inserted in a kuz intron. In this work, we investigated whether a laboratory mutant stock overexpressing kuz is associated with zinc stress phenotypes. We found that both embryos and adult flies overexpressing kuz are more tolerant to zinc compared with wild-type flies. On the other hand, we found that the effect of FBti0019170 on zinc stress tolerance depends on developmental stage and genetic background. Moreover, in the majority of the genetic backgrounds analyzed, FBti0019170 has a deleterious effect in unpolluted environments in pre-adult stages. These results highlight the complexity of natural mutations and suggest that besides laboratory mutations, natural mutations should be studied in order to accurately characterize gene function and evolution.H.L.M. was a VAST-CSIC fellow, L.G. was a FI/DGR fellow (2012FI-B-00676) and J.G. is a Ramón y Cajal fellow (RYC-2010-07306). This work was supported by grants from the European Community’s Seven Framework Programme (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-CIG-293860), from the Spanish Government (BFU2011-24397 and BFU2014-57779-P), and from the Generalitat de Catalunya (2014 SGR 201).EUR 1,305 APC fee funded by the EC FP7 Post-Grant Open Access PilotPeer reviewe